Redefining Moments
by Batasyl
Summary: Riley wants to change the world and she's one step closer to achieving that goal. So what happens when someone from her past cross her path again? Will that stop her or will things just get more interesting?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello lovely readers, as promised here's a Riley and Lucas story for those RUCAS shippers out there. Hopefully you'll like this story. Enjoy reading :)**

 **xxxx**

"Avoiding a call from the boyfriend?"

Riley glanced at her phone and nodded, unwilling to explain further. "No, just... a guy."

"Really?" Grace's wide eyes met hers in the mirror. "A real-life guy? Oh, my God, where's my phone? I want to take a picture of this moment."

Despite her mood, Riley smiled. "You make me sound like a nun."

"I was beginning to think you were, hon."

Riley snorted a laugh. "I'm not a nun."

 **xxxx  
**

Is that what most people think of her? That she's a nun? Riley admits that she's not a party goer or that she can count the number of guys she dated in one hand and she hasn't gone beyond first base with any guy but there's no way she's a nun. Maybe close to being one but definitely not a nun.

Riley likes boys like any normal 22 year old university student, she's just too busy with school to focus on dating. Besides moving to a different University for a second degree takes a lot of work. But Riley couldn't be any happier. Her family are always saying that she can change the world, well she just took another step closer to that goal. She'd conquered Columbia and now she's half way done to conquering Texas A&M University.

To some her life is boring but for Riley Matthews...life is good.

 _ **BUMP!THUD!**_

"Oh, gosh! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry." Riley looked up at the man standing tall and imposing before her. Her heart skipped a beat at the recognition of his face.

"Riley Matthews."

Riley jumped up, her heart thrumming a quick tempo. Her skin flushed with embarrassment. She swallowed. "Lucas?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Riley."

Riley looked up again. Blinked.

"Hi."

She blinked again. "Oh, um, hey."

"Riley relaxed, it's just me", he snapped.

Her skin flushed again. This time, her chin came up. Her eyes flashed cool fire, and Lucas found himself intrigued at the play of emotions across her face. It was almost as if she were arguing with her self.

"Yes, Mr. Lucas Friar, it's just you," she snapped back.

Lucas had a sudden urge to laugh. It was as if a kitten had suddenly hissed and swatted him. Same old adorable Riley Matthews.

"Now, there's the Riley I remember," he said, amused.

She folded her arms over her breasts and tried to look stern. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"You should."

Riley looked at him, her brown eyes were worried. He had a sudden urge to kiss her, to wipe away that worried look and put a different kind of look there. Whoa! Where did that come from?

Before Lucas can say anything else she cut him off.

"It's nice to see you again Lucas. I have to go or I'll be late for class." And with that Riley walked away.

Lucas watched Riley go. Who would have thought that after almost 7 years he'll cross path with her again? _Little miss sunshine._ Granted she's no longer little, darn she's actually a tall, elegant and very striking woman now. But he's betting that she's still the wide-eyed idealist who chased after dreams-and kept chasing them even when they led down a self-destructive paths. Women like Riley were so easily corruptible in the wrong hands. His protective instincts came to the fore, made him want to send her back to New York to her family.

Lucas did a mental kick. What is wrong with him today? It's his last year and he has so much going on to even think of adding a gorgeous brunette into the mix. It's a huge campus. What are the odds of him seeing her again?

 **xxxxx**

Riley was annoyed with her self. What happened back there? She'd clammed up like a silly schoolgirl. Lucas Friar. Grrrr...why couldn't the years be horrible to his looks? The good looking boy in middle school had turned into a total hunk.

A total hunk whom just minutes ago briefly held her and sizzle of electricity shot through her, gathered in her feminine core and made her ache in ways she'd never quite experience before. She'd had boyfriends before. She'd been kissed. She'd even gone further than that-but she'd never felt the moment was right to go all the way.

Lucas Friar, 9th grade and Maya Hart. It still stung. She's not going there. Focus. She needs to focus. Riley dragged herself back to present, tried so hard to ignore the skittering of her pulse and the throbbing deep in her heart. TA&M is big, she probably won't see Lucas again.


	3. Chapter 3

"Riley, c'mon, you'll have fun, and if anyone needs to have fun, it's you."

Riley shook her head at her friend Grace Davis, who grabbed Riley's hand and pulled.

"Come join me," Grace invited. "Let loose."

Riley let her friend drag her along, and before she knew it, strong arms were boosting them up on top of the bar. Grace was grinning like the wild woman that she was, dancing even before the music started.

They were having a fun night out, and as she looked around the bar, Riley was self-conscious at first. She seriously thought about climbing back down, but everyone was watching and chanting dance, dance, dance.

So she started to dance, and that's when things got better. A lot better.

Letting go, she raised her arms high and put more hip-swing into it, much to the crowd's appreciation. Grace hooted in approval and danced with her. Riley had to admit, she enjoyed how the guys were slack-jawed as they watched. She smiled at them and winked as she turned and shimmied to a blaring version of _"I'm Alright."_ (for those of you who don't know - this is a country song-being in Texas and all) For that one moment, she was all right. _Perfect_ , in fact.

Grace was right. This was exactly what Riley needed, so she planned to enjoy herself. Smiling as someone handed her a beer, she and Grace danced right into the next song.

Good thing she'd worn her new skinny jeans and one of those tees that showed a teeny hint of belly. It was all courtesy of a recent shopping trip with Grace, who had helped Riley supplement her otherwise pitiful wardrobe. Apparently it was something Grace had wanted to do for quite sometime.

Sending a sexy smile to Grace, she tilted her head back and chugged her beer as the song ended, enjoying the chants that accompanied her finale.

When she was done, her head spun. Her skin was warm. She laughed, wobbling a bit as she handed her glass back to the bartender. She and Grace finally made their way down off the bar to riotous applause.

"I can't leave you alone for a minute, can I?" Scott, Grace's boyfriend, scolded but he was grinning. His eyes were warm as he took in his girlfriend. Riley averted her eyes discreetly from the deepening kiss that the two were sharing in front of everyone.

Riley cleared her throat. "Okay, well, then, I'll just go back to the table and eat all of those wings."

Grace never broke the kiss while waving her away, making Riley laugh. She suspected the lovebirds were going to find some privacy, and she left them to it.

Riley took a chair near the wall and munched on her wings. As she licked some of the sauce from her fingers, she stopped and looked up, feeling as if she was being watched. And she was.

Lucas Friar sat across the room, his eyes glued to her as if she were the only one there. His eyes rooted her to the spot and sent licks of heat scattering over her skin. She lost track of everything and almost tumbled her plate to the floor, catching it before it fell.

His magnetic eyes were, right now, focused on the finger she had been sucking some of the wing sauce from. She removed it from between her lips and grabbed a napkin. There was no question that Lucas Friar still affects her differently than the other guys.

The way Lucas was looking at her now was almost as if he were angry, or as if he were undressing her. She wasn't sure which, or which she wanted it to be.

"I think it's time for me to go," she told Grace and Scott as soon as they returned to the table. Riley stood, pushing her plate to the side. After a round of goodbyes, she decide to walk home. Her apartment was only a mile away and she needed the fresh air. And to get away from Lucas. But as she walked to the door, she made the mistake of looking back. His gaze met hers across the room, sending a shiver down her spine.

Then, as she reached for the door, he got up and headed directly toward her.


	4. Chapter 4

Lucas wasn't sure why he was following Riley as she left. She didn't want his company. He should definitely keep his distance, as he had been doing.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept except due to sheer exhaustion. He came here tonight to remedy that with a few drinks. Maybe more than a few. Lucas didn't know that Riley would be here, and if he had, he would have avoided the bar completely. There were plenty more in Texas.

He thought he was seeing things when she'd gotten up on that bar-or rather when she'd been hoisted up by a guy with his hands on her ass. Her dancing had nearly killed him. It was so unlike her.

The Riley he'd known would have died before dancing on a bar like that. Okay he knew her in middle school so yeah she wouldn't be dancing at a bar, but still the Riley he knew would not put a spotlight on her self. Maya, well, Maya would do that. But Riley, no way.

It was all he could do not to drag her down off the bar, but what she did wasn't his business anymore. Unfortunately, his body didn't agree. When she'd started licking the barbecue sauce from her fingers, he'd stiffened and had to wait until he could stand up again.

Lucas watched how she'd laughed and smile with her friends, not noticing the guys' covert glances at her curves and movements. As he caught up with her, she stilled, looking right and left as if seeking an escape. That irritated him. He'd never do anything to hurt her. Okay, maybe he did when they were younger, much younger and he liked to think that they both learned from it and had moved on.

"Riley," he said, feeling like a teenager who was talking to the beautiful girl he wanted, but he had nothing prepared to say.

He blinked, his head buzzing. Maybe he should have skipped that last Scotch.

"How are you?" he managed to ask.

Riley always had a way of looking at him. He clear brown eyes would darken a shade, and she would seem to completely absorb him with that gaze. For a second, he'd caught that look again when their eyes met across the room. Lucas felt that connection, strong as ever. He wanted to think what they'd had was too strong for the past to wipe out.

But now she looked at him like a stranger. There was a gleam of panic in her expression, as well. Why?

"Hello, Lucas. I'm good. Thanks. Actually, um, I was just leaving." Her tone was distant, polite. Eager to go.

She was the girl he knew-in her movements, her expressions - but in many ways she was oddly unfamiliar.

"I'll drop you off."

"Thanks. But, um, I don't live that far from here and I prefer to walk."

"That's good. I mean that you prefer to walk because I'm not in a position to drive tonight. Let me at least walk with you."

Riley felt something crack in the region of her heart. She couldn't do this. She couldn't make herself that vulnerable and open again.

"Please Riley."

So she had no choice? "Okay."

They walked with an uncomfortable silence.

Lucas was about to apologize for the way he'd left things with Riley in middle school, but she didn't him him a chance. "The next building is my apartment. You should head back to the bar. Your friends must be looking for you by now."

Lucas shrugged.

She wasn't finished. "Lucas thank you for walking with me but it's really not necessary."

Lucas came closer, and her eyes widened. He'd always loved her eyes. He wasn't thinking of kissing her but when his mouth found hers, intention went out of the window. He held her to him until she relaxed, opened and started kissing him back. Blood rushed in his veins as he went deeper. He was hard, too, and he let her know it. She moaned into him as he pressed against her.

A light from an oncoming car brought her back to her senses and she pushed away. He let her go, still shocked.

Lucas started to speak, but she smothered some strangled sound and run.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hi Riley," he said, keeping his voice and his expression as neutral as possible.

"Hey." She said, avoiding meeting his gaze.

"Can we talk?"

"No." She finally looked him in the eye. "There isn't anything to talk about is there?" she asked.

"Actually there are, there's a lot to be exact."

She looked at him more closely. "You won't let this go until you have your say aren't you?"

"Nope."

Annoyance flashed in her eyes. "I don't remember you being this pushy." she said. "Our friendship means nothing to you."

"We're not exactly friends anymore, are we?" He probably shouldn't have said that. He should have kept the conversation neutral. Unemotional. But the memory of her running away after they kissed still rankled like sand in his boots.

"Fine. I have a class until 3:30 this afternoon, I can meet you at the coffee shop at 3;45," Riley said.

Before he could question her further, she turned and hurried away.

When Lucas walked into the café, he was greeted by the familiar aromas of fresh coffee and warm cinnamon rolls and the mouthwatering sight of Riley. As always when he saw her, his pulse raced.

"I'm sorry I'm late."

She shook her head. "I'm early."

"Chocolate brownie Frappuccino, extra whipped cream," the waiter said, sliding the plastic cup across the table.

"Thanks."

She reached for her wallet but Lucas was already passing money to the server. "Please add a large Americano and take it out of that."

Lucas got his coffee and his change, and Riley wrapped her lips around her straw and sipped her drink. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"Let's start with me and Maya," he said.

"Let's not." Her voice was tinged with not just disappointment but disapproval.

"Riley, I want us to be friends again and that's not going to happen if we don't talk about what started this rift between us," he told her.

She eyed him skeptically as she continued to sip her drink. "Okay."

"Are you still in contact with Maya and Farkle?" he asked curiously.

She didn't have to think about his question for long. "Yes. Maya and I are still friends if that's what you want to know."

"I'm glad that you guys are still friends. I would really hate my self if it turned out that I ruined your friendship on top of hurting you."

"You didn't," she denied. "Okay, you sort of almost ruined mine and Maya's friendship but we tried our best to move past that. In a way you did us a favor. We realized that what we have is much more important than a fleeting romance. Made our relationship much stronger. But it did hurt at the time."

"I'm sorry."

She nodded.

"Do you think you can also forgive me?"

"I already did Lucas," she admitted. "It was a long time ago. We were just kids. Crushes, fights, and teenage angst are all part of growing up and I'm not holding that against you."

"Thank you," he said, taking her hand.

Riley didn't pull her hand away. Maybe she should have, but she liked the feel of his palm against hers, of his fingers entwined with hers.

"So, does this mean we're friends again?" he prompted.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I guess we are."

"Riley, about the kiss…"

"Oh, no. We are not talking about _**THAT**_. Don't push it Lucas Friar," Riley warned.


	6. Chapter 6

Lucas was going to be late to class and he doesn't care. Riley walks along the wall in Bush School, her fingers clutching his. She's catching him up on the gossip he missed on the whole two days he was back home. Lucas doesn't care who dumped whom or who got what role, honestly, even if he should. He's just glad to be back here.

Her hand against his hand sends shivers of friction up his arms as she easily jumps down from the end of the wall. It's only been two days, but God, he want to stare at her forever. Early morning sun does beautiful things to Riley. Her brown hair escapes her hat and her eyes are made even more brilliantly brown with all this dew around them.

"Why does Grace care?" He tucked her hand into his coat pocket where it belongs. Impulsively, because he can't remember feeling this happy in a while, he added, "Let's skip class."

"Because she's nuts, and we can't skip class," she says all in one breath, bumping her hip into his. "Besides, you don't skip class."

"Maybe," Lucas tease, "I just want to spend time with you before exam week starts."

Riley lifts her chin, pouting at him. "More reason not to skip class."

"You're bad at being bad."

She laughs, leaning into him. "Hey, I did bad things."

"Wait, you weren't perfect at some point in your life?" Lucas clapped his free hand against his chest, pretending to stumble. "I cannot process this information. Stunned speechless."

"Shut up," she says with a smile. "You know I'm not perfect."

To most people, she probably is perfect. Model-thin, fit, leggy, gorgeous, and smart.

Riley leans forward, she smiles, and whispers, "Hey, you."

"Hey, you," He whisper back.

"I'm glad you're back," Riley says for the tenth time this morning. "I missed you."

"Me too."

Lucas was dripping with sweat, his jersey shirt stuck to his chest, and he leaned against the bleacher. Being tired feels a lot like being alive. Riley comes over to stand next to him, her water bottle tipped up to her mouth.

"How's practice?"

"Tiring." He says, stealing her water bottle. She wrinkles her nose as he took a long swig. She used to complain about germs but sometime in the last 3 months, he managed to break her of that particular phobia.

"Are you two still sure you're not dating? Because this looks awfully like a couple's scene to me." Zay, his best buddy and team mate, has come up beside Riley.

"Best friends can do this," Riley says so smoothly that Lucas almost thanked her for answering so he didn't have to.

Because the truth is, it does feel like a relationship. It's felt like a relationship for months now. But unless Riley gives him express permission, that's not happening. Lucas will not cross some line just to see whether it'd work. It's not worth the risk of losing her. Again. They could barely handle two days apart. What happens if they can't handle a breakup?

"She makes enough demands on me as it is," Lucas tells Zay with mock seriousness. "Imagine if we added sex to this."

Riley's cheeks flush bright pink. "Shut up. I'm not that difficult."

Zay snorts as Lucas say, "Sweetheart, you're impossible. But it's why I adore you."

"Are you two going to the barbeque?" Zay asked.

"Can't. Need to study," they said together, and then burst into laughter. Lucas added, "At least until the end of next week."

Riley flicks his nose. "Hush. You don't really study. I study while you do whatever it is jocks like you do."

"Yup, I chase girls," Lucas tells her and she sticks out her tongue. She's adorable when she's pretending to be pissed off.

"Gotta go. See you guys later."

"Man, that girl is smokin'!"

"Don't even think about it Zay. Don't _ever_ think about it!"


	7. Chapter 7

Riley opened the door after three knocks. As soon as Lucas saw her, he rummages in his bag and surfaces with the _Beauty and the Beast_ DVD. Riley squealed with delight, grinning as Lucas handed it to her. She knew he'd give in and watch the movie she wanted to watch. She loaded it into her computer and clear off the coffee table.

"Popcorn?" Lucas calls from the kitchen.

"Okay," I call back. "There's coffee if you want it."

"I want to sleep tonight so maybe not." Lucas flicked off the lights as he comes back into the living room with the popcorn. When he hits the couch, his limbs went everywhere. But then he pulled Riley against him, his thumb running down her bare arm, and she remembered that he always knows exactly what he's doing.

After the movie Riley showered first and left Lucas to clean up, She sat on the floor of the bathroom, combing the tangles out of her hair, listening to Lucas humming just on the other side of the door. Most nights, she likes the company. But tonight, something shivers beneath her skin. Two days he was gone, and when he showed up today at her door, the explosion of her heart splattering against her rib cage surprised her. Their usual banter fades away this time of night, and then she's unsure of where to go next.

"Riles, you okay in there?" Lucas calls, rapping his knuckles on the door.

 _Don't mind me. Just untangling my feelings_ , she wanted to say. Instead, Riley called back, "I'm dressed, just brushing my hair. You can come in if you miss me that much."

Colossal mistake. When Lucas opens the door, he's shirtless, his jeans sitting low around his hips, his abs defined enough that Riley wanted to run her fingers along the indents. He doesn't notice, rubbing his hands absentmindedly through his messy hair. Lucas' accidentally beautiful in a way that few people manage to pull off, with his blonde hair and green eyes, the way his eyes and smile tend to light up at the same time.

"You're sitting on the floor brushing your hair," he says, fishing the spare toothbrush out of Riley's vanity without asking. He watches her from the mirror, in her bathroom.

"Standing felt tiring," she admitted. "I'm tired of being on my feet."

Lucas tried to say something through his toothbrush and she wrinkled her nose. He spits out the toothpaste and rinses out his mouth. "You're such a princess sometimes."

"Too bad you're not my Prince Charming," she says without thinking and open her mouth to take back the words, but shut it immediately. She can't rescind that without admitting the truth: he kind of is Prince Charming.

"Charming, sure. Princely, less so. We don't have those in Texas," he says without missing a beat. He slides down onto the floor with a sigh and stretches out his legs, using his toes to overturn the tiny trash can. Riley rolled her eyes at him and he grins at her. Sometimes she forgets that they are no longer teenagers.

He scoots closer and leans against her, his bare arm warm against hers. Riley's hyperaware of the way her tank top clings to her damp skin and how short her pajama shorts are. It's silly. They spend all day together, but right here, it feels different. She press the word for it away from the front of her mind.

He elbows me a little. "You're thinking so loud you're giving me a headache."

"Sorry." She turned her face into him, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. He's warm and smells of aftershave and a crispness that clings to his clothes and hair.

His fingers walk slowly up her leg, from her knee to her thigh. She shivered and his arm shifts against her nose and mouth when he laughs. "Ticklish, Riley Matthews?"

She loves her nickname, but when he uses her full name, her breath pirouettes in her chest, spinning her higher and higher. Her skin hums everywhere he touches her. This is why she do not—cannot—let herself think this is anything but platonic. There's too much at stake. Friendship. Future. Hearts.

"It'll be fine," he reassures me, and for a second, she can't figure out what he's talking about. His hand flattens on her arm. Right. He thought I'm worried about something.

"Huh?" She said and can practically feel her skin turn bright pink. Oh, God. She wanted to crawl into a hole and die, but instead, she's sitting on the floor with him and kept saying stupid things.

All the muscles south of her ribs seize up tightly at the quiet, thoughtful noise he makes. He presses his lips against her forehead abruptly and says, his voice a low hum that turns her inside out, "Breathe, Riley."

"I'm breathing," she whispered. And then she let her lips brush against his arm a little more than she should. He swallows.

"Look at me," and his voice makes it a command, not a request. Riley lifted her face free from its safe spot and forced herself to meet Lucas' eyes, not to run around his face, or touch his body, or think about anything other than school.

She made the effort. He doesn't.

Lucas ran an inquisitive finger from the corner of her eye, across her cheek to the corner of her mouth, and then down her jaw to her collarbone, then to her shoulder. His finger took her breath, her heartbeat, the heat from her body with it as it runs down to the delicate skin on the inside of her elbow, to the blue veins in her wrists. Riley's afraid he's going to ask why her pulse is hammering.

"Pushing ourselves outside our comfort zone and taking risks," he whispers, his voice low and husky. "That's what we do. We're tough."

Is that what they are? Right here, half-naked and exchanging curious touches? Staring at each other's mouths? Tough.

Riley had to slide away from Lucas before she does something crazy. She pushed herself a few inches away, inhale deeply and sink against the bathtub wall. She pulled her legs beneath her and stood up, offering Lucas her hand. When she pulled him to his feet, she stepped into his embrace and he rocks her back and forth.

If taking risks is what they do, if they're tough to their very core, then what he and she has is the next obstacle they'll have to conquer.


	8. Chapter 8

"Lucas!'

"What?!"

"Whoa! Don't bite my head off." Zay says, elbowing me.

"Sorry."

Zay stared at Lucas so hard. His reply is so slow it's obvious that he's picking his words with caution. "Everything okay?"

Lucas nod. "Sure." He shouldn't say anything, because even he doesn't know what's going on, but he checked around them and they're the only ones in the locker room, so he sighed and say, "Riley."

"Duh," Zay says. "So did you and Riley do it or something?"

"That sounds so weird." Lucas rubbed at his face. "No, we didn't do it. But I stayed at her place last night—shut up, we stay over all the time. Move past it, Zay. Anyway, we had this late night talk, and at some point, I think we stopped talking about other things. Started talking about us."

"The us that is not an us, but is always an us," Zay says with a straight face.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Yeah. That."

"This is why you're all pissed off? Dude, if you're bringing me into your head game with Riley, you have to brief me beforehand. What if I say something that fucks it up?"

"You can't fuck up something that doesn't exist," Lucas reminded him.

"That is not true," Zay says, pointing his finger at Lucas. "Besides, don't lie. It's not that it doesn't exist. It's that it doesn't have a name."

"It's not a thing. We're friends," Lucas insisted.

"Okay, clearly I need to break something to you. Yeah, you and Riley are friends. But you're not just friends." He drops his voice even lower. "Whether you two are sleeping together or not has nothing to do with it."

"Maybe. But I am not compromising our friendship to put a name to it."

"That's the tough," Zay says. "You're going to have to roll the dice on that at some point, my friend. That's exactly the risk for you."

Lucas blinked at him. "Is there a different risk for her?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

Lucas intentionally didn't see Riley that day. He needed time to think. When he first saw her after years of not seeing her, he felt a strong emotion that he couldn't understand. He thought it was because of guilt. He felt guilty because he had hurt her. When Riley forgave him and told him to forget about their kiss that strong emotion then became fear. Fear of losing their re-kindled friendship. What he and Riley have right now is special but he wants more. A whole lot more.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello lovely readers, I hope you are enjoying this story.**

 **RGT guest: Thank you so much for the lovely comment. It is much appreciated. As a writer it is always nice to know that my effort is being appreciated and acknowledge. I do read some of the stories here and I myself leave a message or two to let the writer know that their hard work is being noticed. Having said that I will post a short story for Halloween but after that I don't think I will be posting any more stories. As much as I love to write I am unsure if the readers are interested. Writing is only fun when it is being read and enjoyed.** **It has been a pleasure writing for people like you :)**

xxxxx

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Lucas answered nervously.

"Lucas, what's wrong?"

"Do you trust me?" he asked Riley, his eyes moving around her face like it's a real question and he's in search of a real answer.

Riley tilted her head then frowned at him. "Of course."

Relief runs over Lucas, softening his expression and relaxing his fingers, intertwined with her. "Good. Let's get fresh air."

She grabs his elbow and adds, "Later. Tell me what's bothering you. And don't tell me nothing. Just relax and tell me."

Relax. Ha. Lucas' not sure if that word is in his vocabulary at all these days. Especially with Riley's hand still holding one of his. It feels different and he can't figure out how, or why.

Lucas leaned down, close enough to kiss, and Riley can't help but hold her breath and hope. He rests his forehead against hers and his voice is hoarse and rough. "Riley?"

"Yes?" Her voice trembles and she had to take a deep breath, trying not to shake in his arms. This is a dance without choreography. Some dances are meant to be improvised, but she'd never been that type of dancer.

"I know you hate letting go," he whispers, his lips brushing against the bridge of her nose. His touch draws everything in her up and toward him until she's pressed against him and her fingers clutch at his jacket. "But you trust me, right?"

"With my life," Riley managed to say.

"Then trust me to catch you," he pleads, his hand sliding from my waist up to my face. He cups my face with hands that have touched me a million times, but never like this. His thumb runs a path across my cheekbone and I swallow hard. "I'm not asking for anything right now. But trust me to catch you."

"I trust you."

He pulls back and whispers, "What are we? We can't dance away from this question, Riley."

"Alright," she said, watching Lucas closely.

Lucas always thought she also feared losing what they had now. But maybe it ran deeper than that. Maybe he's been wrong this whole time. "Tell me how you feel."

Riley leaned against Lucas, closing her eyes. "I already know what I feel."

Lucas can hear his heartbeat. "Yeah?"

Riley's never really been afraid of anything. Except them. She's afraid of them being them.

"Are you always going to be with me?" she whispers.

Riley doesn't know how to tell him that she's afraid of losing him if this goes south, whatever this is, and she's afraid to let herself be as vulnerable as she was in middle school. This is real. She felt like they are standing on the cliff, hand in hand. It's the start of a new dance – so to speak. It's improvising. It's terrifying, but there's no one else she can imagine doing this with.

Riley danced around the words, even in her mind.

Lucas leans forward, hesitates and then whispers, "Riley I love you."

The anxiety in his voice tugs at Riley from the reverie, and she looked up at him.

Riley didn't have to think when she said, "I love you too."

Riley can see his pupils and they are wide, swallowing her, eating her up and in the harsh light of the room, the lust fills his face.

"You're staring," she says, smiling.

Sometimes, it can bring Riley to her knees how vulnerable he can look. How vulnerable he isn't afraid to look. His head rolls a bit and then he says, "I can't help it."

A part of Riley can still hold back. A part of her knows that this is the point of no return. She knows without a doubt that even if she could go back, she doesn't want to. She wants this. So of course, the dumbest question, the one that's always been there, as much as this feeling's always been there, slips out. "Why?"

His laugh is harsh, almost startling, and he turns his face away from her, fingers sliding through his hair. "God, Riley, that's the wrong question." His voice hungers for the answer.

"What's a better one?"

Riley is in love with the way his head lifts up, the way his lips part. She is in love with the way he steps toward her, backing her up and against the wall. She is in love with his height, the way he towers above her, and she is in love with his hand, slipping up the side of her neck, holding her steady. Riley is in love again with the boy that she found in the subway.

They've walked a fine line for so many years that here, with his thumb pressing into her hairline, her equilibrium was tossed out the window. Riley settled her hand on his hip, feeling the fierce muscle beneath her fingers, and she's not sure if she's tempering his movement toward her, or encouraging it. He steps close enough that the knuckle of her thumb brushes back against her side. The last time they stood this close, they were interrupted. There'd be no interrupting tonight. Not now. It's just him and me, and nothing. It's glorious.

"When." His voice breaks through the mist in her mind. "When, is the question. Riley—" and she shiver at his voice, dropping lower, like his hand traveling knuckles-first down her neck, "—yes or no?"

"Yes," Riley said without any hesitation. Yes.

He takes the lead like he's been waiting for her invitation all this time. She'd barely finished the word before his mouth closes against hers and his hips pressed her against the wall. He kisses her with the force of a storm, catching her off guard. One of his hands slides up her side and his fingers leave traces of fire on her skin. His tongue slides against mine, and when I gasp, he grins ferociously. Riley's fingers found the edge of his shirt and she barely knew what she's asking for when she gripped it, pulled at it, but he lets her go, lets her take a breath just long enough for him to strip the shirt from his body and toss it somewhere behind him.

She'd seen him shirtless before, but this is different. Riley pressed her hands flat against his stomach and he hums against her throat. He kisses her again, rocking his hips against her as her fingers slide from patches of damp skin to dry, starting and stopping, like her heart and her lungs. His tongue slides into her mouth and her hips tilt up toward his, making both of them groan and then press smiles into each other, embarrassed. Like losing yourself in the dance only to land at the end and find yourself in awe that the audience is clapping for you.

Lucas' hands slide up her sides, but this time, they carry her shirt with them, as well. His thumbs count her ribs, his mouth runs down her sternum and Riley was his, his, his.

This is what Riley wants, to feel wanted and loved and vulnerable and seen. Without losing herself. She once thought this was impossible, but in his hands, she is strong and fragile, wanted and wanting, seen and revered.

His thumb brushes over the cup of her bra and they both stop for a moment, breathing in deeply, their lips bruised and full. She can't look at him but he brushes his lips against her, so painfully sweet, so wonderfully anxious, and her fingers curl into his back. Don't leave, Riley wanted to say, but he doesn't move, and maybe he isn't leaving her. To be sure, she hooked a finger through his belt loop and pull him flush against her. He groans, ducking his head to her shoulder under the veil of her hair.

"What are we doing?"

Riley doesn't like lying to Lucas, but she think he knows it's a lie when she said, "Don't know, don't care." She palmed him through his jeans, just to make sure he gets the point. She doesn't want words for this. She just want Lucas.

"Riley." He whispers her name. "I don't have any—"

He is her best friend and he's her other half and he's the only one she'd ever want in her bed, in her, and still, it's hard to say the words. It's hard to tell him that her body's given up on this particular aspect of what makes her a woman. "It doesn't matter. I can't." Riley breathed out, inhale his strength. "Lucas. I want you."

"Riley Matthews," he says, and his voice cracks. He shakes his head, his lips brushing back and forth against hers. He kisses her again, so slowly she thinks this is the only way he knows how to dismantle her, lay me out with all her parts so he can learn how I tick.

Riley waited for him to say something else but he doesn't, just slides his hands down the backs of her thighs, and she took the hint. He carried her back to her room, lays her down on the bed and then asks once more if she is sure.

"Yes."


	10. Chapter 10

Riley woke and stretched, pointing her toes, testing her arches, rolling her shoulders, she closed her eyes, memories digging through her mind and pulling at her skin. She rolled over and immediately have to bite back a grin. She was unprepared for how adorable Lucas is in the morning when he's worried and anxious and rumpled. His light hair sticks every which way and his eyes brim with worry. He's been chewing on his lower lip. Or she was last night.

"So that's why I'm sore," Riley told him, even though she remembered.

Some of the anxiety slips from his eyes and his shoulders drop a little bit. "If I didn't have to take a cold shower before, I do now."

Riley smiled and leaned forward, slipping a hand through his hair. It's impossible to tame it like this, all wild from the sex. "Unfair that you look like this after a night like that." She imagined she look like a mess.

"Why?"

"Because I won't get this out of my head now." She meant it honestly. They're going to have to get out of bed at some point and the rest of the world will come back into focus. They might never get this moment again. She doesn't want to lose it, but the inevitable presses down on her, making it hard to breathe.

Lucas' voice stumbles drunkenly into the space between them. "Riley…"

She wiggled closer to him on the bed and his eyes flutter closed when she kissed him. She wanted to stay there, naked and pressed against him, finding all the curves of their bodies and the variations in which they fit together.

"Lucas," she said in return.

He runs his fingers down her ribs and she almost, almost combust against his chest. "I'm going to shower. We'll talk."

This is what it'd mean to be with him, she thought to herself. To be vulnerable, all the time, day in and day out, and to find ways to be strong when Lucas is not there.

He rolled out of bed and tugs on pants, starting for the bathroom door. Halfway there, he spins around. He comes back to the bed, blushing, and leans over, brushing his lips against her.

"Stop thinking so much," he whispers. "We'll figure this out. Together."

Riley has never been good at letting go, at letting herself just enjoy something without feeling she needed to earn it. And she hadn't earned Lucas. Not really. But she doesn't want to lose this, so she nodded and promised herself she'll try.

When Lucas emerged from the bathroom Riley was already dressed and was tidying up the bed.

"You shouldn't have fixed the bed, we'll use it again anyways," Lucas said with a grin.

"Oh, really?" She laughs and sat on the bed. "Times like this I miss my bay window."

"We'll just have to find our own bay window," Lucas told her.

Riley rolled her eyes at Lucas and then gets to her feet, offering her hand to him. When he took it, he's surprised by how clammy it is, like she's nervous. "Hi"

"Hey." Lucas tried to calm himself. "I meant what I said Riley. We'll find our own bay window. You know why?"

"Why?" she asked. She glanced over to him, her gaze careful beneath her half-lowered lashes. She chews on her bottom lip.

"Because Riley Matthews, I love you," Lucas said, and then he squeezed her hand. "We have one year left before we graduate, that might not be a long time but it's enough time for the two of us to figure out where we will go after graduation. But know this, where ever that may be, we will go together. Riley, I love you and there's no way I am letting you go the second time."

She smiles a bit, color lifting up her cheeks. "Lucas?"

"Remember when we did Romeo and Juliet?"

"Yes," she says.

"I told you that I will have my moment. It might have taken years for me to have that moment but it's worth it. Because today is my moment and my moment will last a lifetime."

Riley took a deep breath and laid her head on his arm. "I love your moment. It's perfect."

 **The End**

 *** Hope you enjoyed this story. I appreciate all the comments I have gotten from all the stories I've written and posted here.**

 **Thank you for reading ️**


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